REGINA — The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has rejected an attempt by the province’s hockey governing body and a Dalmeny Minor Hockey Association to stop a parents’ legal challenge over how their children were treated.
The dispute centres on a Saskatchewan Hockey Association (SHA) policy requiring boys and girls on co-ed teams to use separate dressing rooms. The rule became a source of conflict for Laurelea and Rodney Trayhorne, whose daughter played on a Dalmeny Minor Hockey Association (DMHA) team.
Justice Jerome A. Tholl wrote that the SHA's appeal process "could not address all of the issues raised."
In a decision released Aug. 12, the Court of Appeal dismissed appeals by the SHA and DMHA, who wanted the Trayhornes' case dismissed or paused while a past human rights complaint was still before the commission.
Justice Tholl said people in non-profit groups should use the group’s own appeal system first, but said this doesn’t apply if the appeal system can’t deal with the main problems.
According to court documents, the Trayhornes filed human rights complaints in 2020 and 2021. The first was rejected. The second, which claimed discrimination and retaliation, was investigated but dismissed in 2025.
The DMHA released the Trayhornes’ daughter and two sons in 2021. The children later joined teams elsewhere.
In their 2023 court filing, the Trayhornes say SHA and DMHA acted unfairly by permanently releasing their children, making unproven accusations, giving too harsh discipline, and sending a DMHA board member — who was also the Dalmeny Police Chief — to talk to their daughter at school. They also say the SHA supported the releases and didn’t enforce proper rules and policies.
They seek several remedies, including removing the DMHA board, quashing the releases, amending bylaws, terminating SHA’s general manager, and preventing SHA from discouraging member associations from registering their children.
The SHA and DMHA asked the Court of King’s Bench to dismiss the case or pause it. They argued the Trayhornes had not used all internal steps.
The King’s Bench judge found the family could have appealed some issues internally, but ruled the SHA appeal system couldn’t handle the bigger concerns about how decisions were made and how the family was treated. He refused to dismiss or pause the application.
The Court of Appeal agreed, saying the lower-court judge properly applied the law and fully considered concerns about overlapping cases and potential prejudice.
The case now returns to King's Bench, where the parents' claims will proceed.
ljoy@sasktoday.ca
